The Top 5 Reasons to Visit Madison, Wisconsin Now

Why is Madison one of the best places to live in America? For starters, the lively Wisconsin capital is surrounded by five picturesque lakes making it a naturally beautiful city with ample outdoor activities. In fact, Madison was also recently named the greenest city in America, a ranking that took into account Madison's 200 miles of hiking and biking trails. It's a vibrant cultural hub of art, music and food, playing host to the Great Taste of the Midwest—which celebrates Madison's thriving art and craft beer scene.

Image courtesy of Destination Madison

1. THE GARDENS

Madison, Wisconsin is home to not one, but two botanical gardens. Located along the shoreline of Lake Monona, Olbrich Botanical Gardens was the 1916 vision of its founder, Michael Olbrich, a lawyer, politician, and conservationist. Stroll 16 acres of outdoor gardens such as the Perennial Garden, Sunken Garden, Herb Garden, Rose Garden—featuring stunning landscapes and Midwest-hardy plants. Inside the Bolz Conservatory ($2 fee), a sunny 50-foot-high glass pyramid, discover a collection of tropical plants (banana, coffee and vanilla), a rushing waterfall, free-flying birds and blooming orchids. Admission to the gardens is free to the public.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Image courtesy of Destination Madison

Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Image courtesy of Destination Madison

Over at the Allen Centennial Garden, experience an artful living laboratory and public botanical garden of the Horticulture Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The garden is built around a stately Victorian gothic house nestled on the agricultural campus. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, “Lake Dormer” was one of the first buildings on the agricultural campus and served as home for the college's first four deans. Admission is free to the public.

2. THE ARTS

For classic and traditional art head over to the Chazen Museum of Art, where every year, the Chazen organizes and presents between ten and twelve temporary exhibitions. These may be drawn from significant areas of the museum's own collection, designed to showcase the work of a notable living regional or national artist or loaned to the museum from institutions around the world. When the museum opened in 1970, the collection of 1,600 paintings and works on paper had been acquired by the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1885. Today, there are over 20,000 works of art in the museum's collections. These holdings represent the entire spectrum of art history across culture, period, media, and genre. Admission is free to the public.

Chazen Museum of Art

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

For modern masterpieces, visit the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. The State Street Gallery is directly off of the museum lobby, the Henry Street Gallery showcases a rotating selection from the Museum's collections and the main galleries are the largest exhibition space—located up the stunning glass stairway, on the second floor. Also on the second floor, is the Imprint Gallery, which provides an immersive environment for artwork based on film or sound. In addition to these galleries, MMoCA displays art in the lobby and in the Rooftop Sculpture Garden. Admission is free to the public.

3. THE COCKTAILS

Located within the walls of the The Hilton Madison Monona Terrace lies Madison’s most inspiring new restaurant. Named after Audrey Munson, "America's first supermodel," Audrey Kitchen + Bar is the perfect spot to snuggle up in an oversized banquette and sample a few shareables with friends. As for craft cocktails, you’ll want to try the MUSE—a stellar combination of Milagro silver tequila, Ouzo #12, Chambord, fresh squeezed lime and ginger.

At Audrey Kitchen + Bar, art doesn’t just live on the walls, it comes to life on plates large and small, and within the confines of your cocktail glass.

The Hilton Madison Monona Terrace

The Hilton Madison Monona Terrace

The Hilton Madison Monona Terrace

From their patron muse, to your amuse-bouche, your only worry is what you’ll nosh on next. Hungry yet?

Guests of The Hilton Madison Monona Terrace’s Audrey Kitchen + Bar enjoy complimentary valet parking.

4. THE ARCHITECTURE

Frank Lloyd Wright called Wisconsin home and Madison is where he attended both high school and college. The renowned architect continues to be alive and well in Wisconsin’s capital in a mix of tourist draws and off-the-beaten-path sites and they all share one thing—Wright’s innovative approach to organic architecture. You can enjoy these six Frank Lloyd Wright-designed masterpieces throughout Madison.

1. Monona Terrace

When Wright first designed this impressive civic center in 1938, he said, “It will never be built in my lifetime,” and he was right. World War II brought the project to a halt, and amid rejection from voters, the complex seemed to be doomed. It was finally brought back to life and constructed in 1997, but without Wright’s preliminary suggestions of a rail depot, marina, and courthouse.

2. Robert Lamp House

Located on Madison's isthmus, this home was designed by Wright in 1903 for his childhood friend Robert Lamp. At the time, Wright had a heavy workload and handed off the execution of the project to colleague Walter Burley Griffin. It’s considered a hybrid of Griffin and Wright’s designs, and a little walking is required to see the exterior.

3. The “Airplane” House

As one of Wright’s earlier home designs in Wisconsin, the Eugene A. Gilmore house, often referred to as “the Airplane House” for its wing-like features, was completed in 1908 for Gilmore, a professor at the University of Chicago. Positioned on top of a hill, take a drive to see the home and unparalleled views of Madison.

4. First Unitarian Society Meeting House

With pointed, geometric features and not a piece of stained glass in sight, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unitarian Meeting House certainly doesn’t fit the bill of a traditional church. It was completed in 1951 by Marshall Erdman, a local builder. A collaboration between Erdman and Wright came out of the Meeting House project—building prefab houses.

5. Usonia 1

In the wake of the Great Depression, Wright began to visualize an America dotted with reasonably-priced homes, all designed by him. He called his vision “Usonia,” derived from United States of America. The first of Wright’s 140 Usonian homes can be found in Madison. The 1,550-square-foot dwelling was built in 1937 for Herbert Jacobs, a newspaper reporter.

6. Van Tamelen House

This 2,000-square-foot prefab home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was completed and constructed in 1956 by Wright’s protégé Marshall Erdman. Residents have been living in the home ever since, including a former employee of Marshall Erdman and Wright devotee who purchased it in 1974, adding several Wright-inspired bird baths and lights. The house remains a private residence and is not open for tours.

View the photo gallery above and click on an image for directions.

5. THE LAKES

Experience Madison the way it’s meant to be seen—from the water. With five lakes to choose from (Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, Kegonsa and Wingra), start on Lake Monona aboard Betty Lou Cruises for beautiful views of Madison’s skyline or hop in a kayak and surround yourself with the picturesque natural beauty that makes Wisconsin America’s Dairyland.

Image courtesy of Destination Madison

Through late January and mid-March, strap on a set of snowshoes and trek to the middle of frozen Lake Mendota with Wisconsin Union for fantastic views of Madison.